Between The Graves

By: Rabie E Abdel-Halim Translated from Arabic by: Aisha Musa Al Saeed and Eiman Al Khateeb
I had told myself, as I stood in the graveyard ": Did you experience safety and comfort elsewhere "? It replied: Here is my security, my luxury, and my tidings. Be ready, get your provisions , are you in doubt ?! Wish they knew!! O' Grave, speak......O' Earth, inform us. When you buried a body, and family and friends left , How did soul return to it , and he listened to the questioning? Graves hold a test, how could this be forgotten?! Wish they knew!! I did ask a grave: Who is your winning guest? The rich? The great? Or, the strong is best? A voice answered : Come, find out how much of his deeds are good? Graves hold a test, how could you forget?! Wish they knew!! Graves hold either eternal joy, or everlasting torment. Our intellect leads us to God, The Most Bountiful The revelation was sent to guide to the straight path. O Friend, how could the ignorant reject to follow?! Wish they knew!! O' Friend, all those in the graves arent equal. Some lived for the Benevolent the All-Forgiving, Others lived for the Devil of conceit. Wish I knew, What justice would make them equal?! Wish they knew!!

Part of the long Arabic poem Fakkuttalasim (Clues to the Riddles) composed in 1997 by Rabie E Abdel-Halim in reply to the famous poem Attalasim (The Riddles) of the well-known Arab American poet Ilia Abu Madhi (1889 or 1890 1957).
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Don't doubt , grave dwellers are no equals Some have achieved good, the light of revelation has lit their insight Others reaped evil, though they were lead aright O' Friend, how unjust, had they been treated as equals! Wish they knew!! Dont doubt, people here are no equals. Some are eternal in the gardens of Eden Others are eternal in the smokes of Hell There is Resurrection after death, how could it be forgotten?! Wish they knew!! Time in the graves is not wasted nonexistence Time, for us is age, fortune, and growth And the fruit of age is harvested after Death O' Friend, would you be saved before it is too late?! Wish they knew!! "O' Grave, speak ... and tell us, O' corpses. Death hadnt taken your dreams away, although you decayed. The record of deeds would remain, and we would reap what we've sown. And each gets what he has intended. Do you still doubt?! Wish they knew!! O' Friend, Death is but a route people have to traverse. From one lane to the other in unity and order It isn't extinction , we will be resurrected from ashes As we were first born, dont you believe?! Wish they knew!! O Friend, this is no hidden Talisman Ask an embryo, would it continue to live in the darkness with no light ? He was nothing before .Same will be the rebirth in the hereafter. Like this will be the recreation on the Last Day, and you still doubt?! Wish they knew!! O Friend, The world is no eternal place. We transit past a grave, then Resurrection, then Judgment Day. And thence, real Eternity ... Weve seen the Signs. Wombs hold the reminder, and what a reminder! Wish they knew!!
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Wombs offer no drink, no food, no space. Wombs have no sun, no air, no light. They have nothing but a seed that did not initially exist Wombs resemble graves! How can we forget? Wish they knew!! Wombs hold signs, clear for those with thoughtful minds. How it was implanted, grew, born, and became independent From phase to phase , that's how the picture is completed A live image of resurrection , and you still doubt?! Wish they knew!! Don't doubt the next life , It's simple to understand Watch a newly hatched pigeon, learning to fly. It was dead in a shell from earth and lime. Wish I knew , how did it spring to life?! Wish they knew!! Dont have doubts! Watch how night changes to dawn Watch , think , and contemplate , how the clouds irrigate the arid land Watch, think, and contemplate, how the earth flowers. How often has life sprung from death, how could we forget ?! Wish they knew!!